US does not expect to be drawn into war but predicts attack by Iran against Israel

The United States expects an attack by Iran against Israel but one that would not be big enough to draw Washington into war, a U.S. official said late on Thursday.

The White House said earlier Washington did not want conflict to spread in the Middle East and the U.S. had told Iran it was not involved in an air strike against a top Iranian military commander in Damascus. The White House said it warned Iran to not use that attack as a pretext to escalate further in the region.